Combinatorics Combinatorics is counting without, well, actually counting. Notions of sets and functions give rise, as they should, to further mathematical questions. One of the basic ways that combinatorics is used in middle school and high school settings is to as the question "how many ways". Below are a few resources that can get you started thinking about how to teach combinatorics in a refined way to middle school and high school students. Please, feel free to add to this list!
Pre Assessment:
Permutation Translator: This would be a great hook or introduction to permutations. Have students enter in numbers and see how many ways it can happen. Using a cooperative learning technique, such as Think-Pair-Share or by brainstorming as a class, have students try and figure out how the permutation is being calculated.
Refinement Activities:
Modeling Permutations A mom that is teaching her children, who are in 5-8th grade, permutations explains the way that she introduced the idea to them. Her method can be used in a high school setting as well. Best part: students are not memorizing, they're internalizing!
: This PDF is from the Ohio school administration. It provides a lesson plan on how to teach permutations, and includes pre-assessment and post assessment strategies. If you don't want to use this exact format, it is at least a place to start thinking about how to model permutations with your own class!
Combinatorics is counting without, well, actually counting. Notions of sets and functions give rise, as they should, to further mathematical questions. One of the basic ways that combinatorics is used in middle school and high school settings is to as the question "how many ways". Below are a few resources that can get you started thinking about how to teach combinatorics in a refined way to middle school and high school students. Please, feel free to add to this list!
Pre Assessment:
Permutation Translator: This would be a great hook or introduction to permutations. Have students enter in numbers and see how many ways it can happen. Using a cooperative learning technique, such as Think-Pair-Share or by brainstorming as a class, have students try and figure out how the permutation is being calculated.Refinement Activities:
Modeling Permutations A mom that is teaching her children, who are in 5-8th grade, permutations explains the way that she introduced the idea to them. Her method can be used in a high school setting as well. Best part: students are not memorizing, they're internalizing!